Halloween (2007)
Halloween is a 2007 horror film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a remake of the 1978 horror Halloween, and the ninth film in the Halloween film series. The film stars Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Sam Loomis, Tyler Mane as the adult Michael Myers, and Scout Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strode; Daeg Faerch portrays a ten year old Michael Myers. Rob Zombie's "reimagining" follows the premise of John Carpenter's original, with Michael Myers stalking Laurie Strode and her friends on Halloween night. Zombie's film goes deeper into the character's psyche, trying to answer the question of what drove him to kill people, whereas in Carpenter's original film Michael did not have an explicit reason for killing. Working from Carpenter's advice to "make film his own", Zombie chose to develop the film as both a prequel and a remake, allowing for more original content than simply refilming the same scenes. Despite mostly negative reviews, the film, which cost $15 million to make, went on to gross $80,208,039 worldwide. Plot Halloween 1990 The Myers house is hardly the image of an idyllic family. It is early morning, and ten-year-old Michael Myers is upstairs playing with his pet mouse, Elvis . He is wearing a Halloween clown mask. Downstairs, his mother Deborah prepares breakfast while her crippled boyfriend Ronnie White hassles her. Ronnie is loud, ill-tempered and rude. He makes lewd comments about Deborah's daughter Judith and complains about the infant, "Boo", who begins crying at the sound of Ronnie's voice. Deborah sends Judith upstairs to collect Michael. Michael is in the bathroom, washing blood off of his pocket knife. He has just killed his pet mouse. He goes downstairs and tells his mother that Elvis died. Deborah consoles him and promises that she will buy Michael a new mouse after school. Ronnie tells Michael to remove his clown mask. When Michael refuses, Ronnie yanks it off his face. He threatens to hit Michael with his arm cast. Michael goes off to school and has an unpleasant with a bully named Wesley Rhoades. Wesley makes fun of Michael's sister and accuses her of being a prostitute. He then teases Michael about his mother who works as an exotic dancer at the Rabbit in Red Lounge. The boys begin scrapping until Principal Jim Chambers enters the room. He gives them all detention. The principal telephones Mrs. Myers at her place of employment and has her come down for a parent/teacher conference. He is very concerned about Michael's behavior and has even called in a child psychologist named Doctor Sam Loomis for a special consultation. Chambers shows Deborah a bag with a dead cat that was found in Michael's school bag. Also in the bag was a stack of photographs of animals in various states of mutilation. Doctor Loomis mentions that only a deranged mind could take pleasure in such grotesque displays of violence. After school, Michael follows Wesley Rhoades through the woods. He lies in wait and ambushes him, knocking him down with a heavy tree branch. Michael releases all of his pent up rage and rains blow upon blow down onto the older boy. Wesley is bleeding, crying and terrified. He begs Michael not to hurt him anymore. Michael raises his mask, stares at Wesley, then lowers it again and finishes him off. That evening, Michael sits at home waiting for Judith to take him out trick 'r treating. His mother doesn't know about the business with Wesley Rhoades. Ronnie admonishes Michael for killing all of those animals and says "That is some deep-ass serious faggoty-ass shit". Deborah calls down for Judith to attend to Michael before she leaves again for work. Judith however has no intention of taking Michael out. Just as her mom leaves, Judith's boyfriend Steve Haley comes over. Judith then tells Michael that he'll have to take himself out trick 'r treating. Michael goes out on his own, but comes back a short time later. He finds Ronnie White passed out on a chair in the living room. Michael secures him to the chair with duct tape then takes a butcher knife and uses it to slit Ronnie's throat. He then finds Steve Haley in the kitchen eating a sandwich. He takes an aluminum baseball bat and cracks him across the back of the head. Steve falls to the floor and Michael keeps on hitting him until he is dead. He then walks upstairs where he finds his sister Judith resting in her room. He removes the clown mask and picks up a white, pasty Halloween mask that Steve had brought over. He runs his fingers across Judith's leg until she turns around. Judith demands to know what Michael is doing and begins slapping upside his head. Michael then stabs Judith in the stomach with the knife. Judith stumbles down the hall, but Michael follows her. He stabs her several more times in the back until she is dead. Deborah eventually comes home from work and finds Michael sitting on the front sidewalk holding his baby sister "Boo" in his arms. Noticing the blood on his hands, Deborah begins to panic and asks him what has happened. Michael says nothing. The sound of police sirens can be heard coming closer. Smith's Grove Sanitarium Michael Myers is admitted to Smith's Grove Sanitarium under the care of Doctor Sam Loomis. Loomis asks him what he remembers of "that night", but Michael doesn't seem to recall anything relating to the murders. When Deborah comes to visit him, Michael asks if everyone at home is okay. She is unsure how to react to him, but says that everyone is fine. Michael has another session with Loomis. He makes a new mask for himself and shows it to him. Deborah comes to visit him every week, but Michael appears to be getting worse. He has the occasional emotional break and Doctor Loomis consoles him. Michael wants to go home, but Loomis tells him that he can't. He continues to make masks for himself and wears them with increasing regularity. He say that he wears the masks to hide his ugliness. Deborah tries to get him to take the masks off once in a while, but Michael refuses. At some point the following year, Deborah visits him one last time. He is more withdrawn than ever and refuses to speak. Hoping to cheer him up, she gives Michael an old photograph of himself and his baby sister "Boo", suggesting that Michael should display it in his room. Michael says nothing. After the visit, Doctor Loomis walks Deborah out to her car, leaving Michael in the care of Nurse Wynn. Only seconds later, Michael suffers a complete breakdown and viciously stabs Nurse Wynn to death with a fork. Orderlies come rushing into the room. Loomis and Deborah trail in behind them and Deborah finally sees her son for the monster that he truly is. The orderlies restrain him, but the pressure proves too much for Mrs. Myers. Back home, she tearfully watches old films of her family before taking her own life with a handgun. Fifteen years later, Michael Myers is still locked up at Smith's Grove. He is a huge man whose room is decorated wall to wall with the macabre masks he has crafted over the years. A guard named Ismael Cruz escorts a younger guard, Noel Kluggs, to Michael's cell. Ismael has been taking care of Michael for almost twenty years and has formed something of a bond with him. Noel however, thinks that Myers is a freak and doesn't understand why Ismael panders to him. They bring Michael down to the visitor center where he is to have his final meeting with Doctor Loomis before his competency hearing. Loomis doesn't know what to say to Michael other than that he is sorry for failing to help him over all these years. Loomis muses that in a weird way, Michael has practically become his best friend. A short time later, the security detail at Smith's Grove are tasked with transferring Michael Myers. They march him down the corridor but as they get closer to the main gate, Michael breaks free of his chains. He punches guard Zach Garrett in the face, killing him instantly. He then attacks another guard, Larry Redgrave, bashing his head repeatedly against the wall. Guard Patty Frost tries to withdraw her sidearm, but Michael tears out her esophagus and leaves her bleeding on the floor. Ismael Cruz comes down the cell block and finds the bloodied bodies strewn all over the floor. He finds Michael and instantly knows what has happened. He tries to usher Mike back into his cell, but Michael grabs Ismael and shoves his face into a sink full of water. He dunks him several more times then throws him upon the floor whereupon he crushes his head with a large wall-mounted television set. With no one left to bar his path, Michael leaves the asylum. When the staff learns about Michael's escape, they immediately telephone Doctor Loomis. Loomis says that he will be there as quickly as he can. Meanwhile, Michael makes his way to a truck stop. He accosts a truck driver named Joe Grizzly inside the restroom. Barging into the stall, he bashes Grizzly several times against the wall before finally stabbing him to death. He takes his clothes and discards his hospital robes. Halloween 2007 The following morning in the town of Haddonfield, seventeen-year-old Laurie Strode is spending some time with her parents. Her father, Mason Strode, reads the newspaper and learns that they are closing down Nichol's Hardware Store. Laurie makes a teasing gesture about how Mister Nichol likes to touch her, which greatly embarrasses her mother, Cynthia. Mason then asks Laurie to drop off some papers to the old Myers house on her way to school. Meanwhile, Michael Myers has returned home. He goes to his old house and digs through the floorboards until he recovers a knife and the mask he was wearing the night he killed his sister, Judith. Laurie walks to the house and is greeted by young Tommy Doyle. Laurie is Tommy's babysitter and has agreed to watch over him on Halloween night. Tommy asks Laurie a barrage of questions about various bits of folklore including the Boogey Man and the Mexican Wolf Man. Laurie drops off some papers on behalf of her father to the old Myers house. From inside, Michael watches Laurie and Tommy through the window. Laurie goes to school and meets with her friends Annie Brackett and Lynda Van Der Klok. During study hall, Annie tells Laurie that she has to babysit a girl named Lindsey Wallace. Annie wants to ditch Lindsey so she can go out with her boyfriend Paul and asks Laurie if she can pull double-duty watching both Tommy and Lindsey. Laurie is an agreeable person and tells her that she will. Back at Smith's Grove, Doctor Loomis arrives and speaks with Doctor Koplenson and Morgan Walker. He is furious over the news of Michael's escape and holds the senior staff accountable. He informs them in no uncertain words of who Michael Myers is and exactly where he is going. Back in Haddonfield, school lets out and Laurie, Annie and Lynda walk home. Lynda tells Laurie about her recent altercation with her cheerleading coach, which resulted in Lynda making several lewd remarks. Annie jokingly tells Lynda that she's a slut. As they walk, they notice an ominous "shape" standing across the street. Laurie is bothered by the image, but Lynda and Annie make some bold remarks before it disappears back into the shadows. Annie's father, Sheriff Lee Brackett pulls up and offers Annie a ride home. Sam Loomis eventually arrives in Haddonfield. He goes to the cemetery and speaks with a caretaker named Chester Chesterfield. They speak about the late Deborah Myers and Chesterfield recalls the entire event. As they walk, Chesterfield discovers that the headstone for Judith Myers' plot has been stolen. In its place is the crucified remains of an animal. Loomis solemnly remarks, "I think I know who's grave this is." That evening, Lynda Van Der Klok and her boyfriend Bob Simms drive out to the dilapidated Myers house. They have already consumed several cans of beer and plan on spending the evening making love in the upstairs bedroom. From the upstairs balcony, Michael Myers watches on. The two make love, but Bob gets a leg cramp just before he is about to climax and has to stop. Afterward, Lynda sends him back down to the van to get another beer. Bob rifles through a cooler of empties searching for an unopened can. Meanwhile, Lynda calls Laurie on the telephone. She is upset over what Annie said earlier when she called her a slut. Lynda puts it out of her mind though and the two conclude their conversation. Bob comes back into the house. He is wearing a bed sheet over his head with his eyeglasses on the outside. He plans on playing a Halloween prank on Lynda. Unfortunately for Bob, Michael Myers emerges and stabs him through the stomach with a knife, pinning him to the wall. He takes up Bob's rudimentary costume and goes upstairs. Lynda, mistaking Michael for Bob, makes some rude comments and demands her beer. Michael waits several seconds then tosses it to her. She gets up and turns around and Michael removes the bed sheet from his head. He grabs Lynda with one hand and strangles her to death. Across town, Doctor Loomis stops at a gun store looking to buy a weapon. The proprietor, Derek Allen, shows him a wide selection of firearms, but Loomis settles on the .357 magnum. At the Strode house, Cynthia and Mason Strode pass candy out to trick 'r treaters. Laurie leaves the house when Annie comes to pick her up. Mason tells her to be careful, reminding her that a lot of "nutcases" come out on Halloween. After Laurie leaves, Michael Myers appears. He kills Mason Strode on the front porch with a quick slash across the throat. He drags the body inside and accosts Cynthia. He batters her across the room and then shows her a photograph of Laurie, indicating that he wants to know where Laurie is. Cynthia refuses to say anything, and Michael breaks her neck. Meanwhile at the Doyle house, Laurie entertains Tommy Doyle. Tommy asks Laurie about the Boogey Man, but Laurie tells him that there is no such thing. Annie calls and tells Laurie that she is bringing Lindsey Wallace over. Tommy is not thrilled to hear this news. Across the street, Annie breaks the news to Lindsey. Lindsey is not thrilled either and acts like a brat. Annie drops Lindsey off with Laurie and then goes off to meet her boyfriend. Doctor Loomis meanwhile finds Sheriff Lee Brackett. He tells him about the threat of Michael Myers and details the incident at the cemetery. Brackett is not impressed with stories of missing headstones and tells Loomis to come back to see him the following day. Loomis says that by then it will be too late. They go back to the police station where Brackett reveals that he is familiar with Loomis' work as well as his book. He suspects that Loomis is trying to drum up the old Michael Myers stories so as to increase his book sales. Loomis reiterates how the threat is real and that Michael has returned to Haddonfield to find his little sister. What his intentions towards his sister might be even Loomis cannot determine. Brackett already knows who Michael's sister really is and places a call to the Strode house. Nobody answers the phone and the sheriff grows concerned. Elsewhere, Annie and her boyfriend Paul are making out on the couch. They are completely lost in the moment and do not hear Michael Myers approaching from behind. Michael pulls Paul aside and stabs him in the chest. Annie screams and tries to run out of the house, but Michael drags her back inside. Annie grabs a knife and tries to defend herself only to be backhanded across the floor. Meanwhile, Loomis and Brackett are in a sqaud car driving towards the Strode residence. Lee tells Doctor Loomis what he knows of Laurie Strode. He mentions how seventeen years ago he responded to a 911 call, which ended up relating to Deborah Myers' suicide. He found her infant daughter alone in the room. He didn't want the child growing up with the stigma of the Myers' legacy around her neck, so he omitted finding her in his report and drove her to another town where he dropped her off at the emergency room. Three months later he discovered that his friend Mason Strode adopted the baby. Time passes and Laurie decides to walk Lindsey back home. As they enter the Wallace house, they are horrified to find Paul hanging from the ceiling with a Jack-o'-lantern placed upon his head. Annie is half-naked and bleeding to death on the floor. They both begin shrieking and Laurie tells Lindsey to run away and call for help. Laurie picks up the telephone and places a 911 call. The police immediately dispatch the call to Sheriff Brackett. When Loomis hears the chatter coming over the radio he screams, "He's found her!" At the house, Michael grabs Laurie and begins tossing her about. She picks up a chair and throws it through a pair of french doors. She climbs out into the yard, but injures her ankle in the process. As she shambles down the road, she screams for help. She gets back to the Doyle house and Tommy lets her in. She locks the door behind her, but Michael smashes his way through. Deputy Charles and Officer Lowery arrive at the house to help out. Laurie and the children have sealed themselves inside the bathroom. Before they can reach Laurie however, Michael stabs both men to death. He turns around, grabs Laurie and drags her out of the house. Laurie faints moments later. After Michael leaves, Sheriff Brackett and Doctor Loomis arrive at the house. Loomis goes to find the children while Brackett attends to his bleeding daughter. When Laurie awakens, she finds herself in the cellar of the old Myers house. The naked body of Lynda Van Der Klok is sitting nearby next to the stolen tombstone of Judith Myers. Laurie screams for her to wake up, but realizes that it is too late for her. Michael walks into the room, drops his knife and kneels down. He pulls an old photograph out of his pocket of himself and Laurie when she was still a baby -- the same photo that his mother had given him at Smith's Grove so many years earlier. He then removes his mask. Laurie doesn't understand what he is trying to communicate. Taking advantage of Michael's sudden calmness, Laurie picks up his knife and stabs him in the neck. She then finds a way to break out of the room and get outside. Michael gets up, puts his mask back on and follows her into a neighboring yard. Laurie slips and falls into an empty swimming pool. Michael begins walking in after her, but Loomis arrives and fires several shots into Michael's back. Myers pitches over and Sam helps Laurie out of the pool. He gives her his coat and walks her back to Sheriff Brackett's squad car. Laurie tearfully asks him, "Was that the Boogey Man?" Loomis responds, "As a matter of fact... I do believe it was". Michael suddenly appears from out of nowhere and pulls Laurie out of the car. He begins dragging her back to the Myers house. Loomis calls out to him, repeating his name over and over. He apologizes saying, "I failed you." Michael lets go of Laurie for a moment and directs his next attack against Loomis. He grabs his head with both hands and crushes his skull. Laurie meanwhile flees into the house. Michael begins searching for her, punching through walls and weak pieces of plaster. Laurie picks up Doctor Loomis' handgun and climbs into the rafters. While crawling away, one of the patches gives way and she falls through to the floor, landing on her face. Michael sees her and tackles her. Both of them barrel through a weakened wall onto the upstairs balcony and fall over the edge. Laurie revives first, but her face is completely covered in blood. She picks up the gun again and aims it Michael's face. She presses the trigger several time with no results. Michael suddenly awakens and Laurie pulls the trigger again. The gun fires directly towards Michael's face and Laurie begins howling in fear, pain and terror. Cast Malcolm McDowell as Doctor Samuel Loomis Scout Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strode Tyler Mane as Michael Myers Daeg Faerch as Michael Myers (Age 10) Sheri Moon Zombie as Deborah Myers William Forsythe as Ronnie White Danielle Harris as Annie Brackett Kristina Klebe as Lynda Van Der Klok Skyler Gisondo as Tommy Doyle Danny Trejo as Ismael Cruz Hanna Hall as Judith Myers Brad Dourif as Lee Brackett Jenny Gregg Stewart as Lindsey Wallace Adam Weisman as Steve Haley Dee Wallace as Cynthia Strode Pat Skipper as Mason Strode Nick Mennell as Bob Simms Max Van Ville as Paul ' 'Daryl Sabara as Wesley Rhoades Ken Foree as Joe Grizzly Richard Lynch as Jim Chambers Clint Howard as Doctor Koplenson Noel Kluggs as Noel Kluggs Udo Kier as Morgan Walker Sybil Danning as Nurse Wynn Sid Haig as Chester Chesterfield Daniel Roebuck as Lou Martini Micky Dolenz as Derek Allen Mel Fair as Taylor Madison Richmond Arquette as Deputy Charles Paul Kampf as Officer Lowery Tom Towles as Larry Redgrave Bill Moseley as Zach Garrett Leslie Easterbrook as Patty Frost Steve Boyles as Stan Payne Sydnie Pitzer as Baby Laurie Sydnie Pitzer as Baby Laurie Stella Altman as Baby Laurie Nikki Taylor Melton as Princess Deven Streeton as Princess Characters * Annie Brackett * Bennett Tramer (mentioned) * Bob Simms * Chester Chesterfield * Cynthia Strode * Deborah Myers * Deputy Charles * Derek Allen * Doctor Koplenson * Ismael Cruz * Jim Chambers * Joe Grizzly * Judith Myers * Larry Redgrave * Laurie Strode * Lee Brackett * Lindsey Wallace * Lou Martini * Lynda Van Der Klok * Mason Strode * Michael Myers * Morgan Walker * Noel Kluggs * Nurse Wynn * Officer Lowery * Patty Frost * Paul * Ronnie White * Sam Loomis * Stan Payne * Steve Haley * Taylor Madison * Tommy Doyle * Wesley Rhoades * Zach Garrett Production Development On June 4, 2006, Dimension Films announced that Rob Zombie, director of House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects, would be creating the next installment in the Halloween franchise. The plan was for Zombie to hold many positions in the production; he would write, direct, produce, and serve as music supervisor. Bob Weinstein approached him about making the film, and Zombie, who was a fan of the original Halloween, and friend of John Carpenter, jumped at the chance to make a Halloween film for Dimension Studios. Before Dimension went public with the news, Zombie felt obligated to inform John Carpenter, out of respect, of the plans to remake his film. Carpenter's request was for Zombie to "make it his own". During a June 16, 2006 interview, Zombie announced that his film would combine the elements of prequel and remake with the original concept. He insisted that there would be considerable original content in the new film, as opposed to mere rehashed material. The BBC reported that the new film would disregard the numerous sequels that followed Halloween. His intention is to reinvent Michael Myers, because, in his opinion, the character, along with Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Pinhead, has become more familiar to audiences, and as a result, less scary. The idea behind the new film was to delve deeper into Michael Myers' back story. A deeper back story would add "new life" to the character, as Zombie put it. Michael's mask will be given its own story, to provide an explanation as to why he wears it, instead of having the character simply steal a random mask from a hardware store, as in the original film. Zombie explained that he wanted Michael to be true to what a psychopath really is, and wanted the mask to be a way for Michael to hide. He wants the young Michael to have charisma, which would be projected onto the adult Michael. Zombie has decided that Michael's motives for returning to Haddonfield should be more ambiguous. As Zombie explains, "was he trying to kill Laurie, or just find her because he loves her?" Moreover, Michael would not be able to drive in the new film, unlike his 1978 counterpart who stole Loomis' car so that he could drive back to Haddonfield. Zombie also wants the Dr. Loomis character to be more intertwined with that of Michael Myers; Zombie said that the character's role in the original was "showing up merely to say something dramatic".Although Zombie has added more history to the Michael Myers character, hence creating more original content for the film, he chose to keep the character's trademark mask and Carpenter's theme song intact for his version (despite an apparent misinterpretation in an interview suggesting the theme would be ditched). Production officially began on January 29 2007. Shortly before production began, Zombie reported that he had seen the first production of Michael's signature mask. Zombie commented, "It looks perfect, exactly like the original. Not since 1978 has The Shape looked so good". Casting On December 19, 2006, Zombie mailed Bloody-Disgusting in which he announced that Daeg Faerch would play the part of ten year old Michael Myers. On December 22, 2006, Malcolm McDowell was officially announced to be playing Dr. Loomis. McDowell stated that he wanted a tremendous ego in Loomis, who is out to get a new book from the ordeal. On December 24, 2006, Zombie announced that Tyler Mane, who had previously worked with Zombie on The Devils Rejects, would portray the adult Michael Myers. Mane stated that it was very difficult to act only with his eyes. Scout Taylor-Compton endured a long audition process, but as director Zombie explains, "Scout was my first choice. There was just something about her; she had a genuine quality. She didn't seem actor-y. She was one of the final people to be cast for a lead role after Faerch, Mane, McDowell, Forsythe and Harris. A contest was held for a walk on role in the film, at the time called Halloween 9; it was won by Heather Bowen. Release Approximately four days before the theatrical release of the film, a workprint version of Halloween appeared online and was circulated around various BitTorrent sites. Upon hearing of the leaked copy, Zombie stated that whatever version had been leaked was an older version of the film, unlike what was about to be released in theaters. The leak of Zombie's workprint led to speculation that the film's box office success could be damaged the same way director Eli Roth attributed the financial failure of his film, Hostel: Part II, to the leaking of a workprint version. Dark Horizons webmaster, Garth Franklin, notes that watching the workprint allows a viewer to see what things were changed after the test screenings in June 2007. One particular scene, the rape of one of the Smith's Grove female inmates, Franklin was glad to see replaced in the final version of the film. Halloween was officially released on August 31, 2007 to 3,472 theaters in North America, giving it the widest release of any of the previous Halloween films. Reception Critical response Based on 98 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, Halloween received an average 27% overall approval rating, the film had a lower approval rating with the 18 critics in Rotten Tomatoes' "Cream of the Crop", which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, receiving a 17% approval rating. By comparison, Metacritic calculated a normalized score of 47 out of 100 from the 18 reviews it collected. CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade cinemagoers gave the film was "B-minus" on an A+ to F scale; it also reported that 62% of the audience was male, with 57% being 25 years or older. Peter Hartlaub, of the San Francisco Chronicle, felt Zombie was successful in both "putting his own spin on Halloween, while at the same time paying tribute to Carpenter's film"; he thought Zombie managed to make Michael Myers almost "sympathetic" as a child, but that the last third of the film felt more like a montage of scenes with Halloween slipping into "slasher-film logic. Nathan Lee of The Village Voice disagreed in part with Harlaub, feeling that Halloween may have placed too much emphasis on providing sympathy for Michael Myers, but that it succeeded in "deeping Carpenter's vision without rooting out its fear". The View London film critic Matthew Turner believed the first half of the film, which featured the prequel elements of Michael as a child, were better played than the remake elements of the second half. In short, Turner stated that performances from the cast were "superb", with Malcolm McDowell being perfectly cast as Dr. Loomis, but that the film lacked the scare value of Carpenter’s original. Jamie Russell from the BBC agreed that the first half of the film worked better than the last half; she stated that Zombie’s expanded backstory on Michael was "surprisingly effective"—also agreeing that McDowell was perfectly cast as Loomis—but that Zombie failed to deliver the "supernatural dread" that Carpenter created for Michael in his 1978 original. New York Daily News critic Jack Matthews believed the film lacked tension, and went more for cheap shocks—focusing more on enhancing the "imagery of violence"—than real attempts to scare the audience; he gave the film one and a half stars out of five. Dennis Harvey, from Variety magazine, echoed Matthew's opinion that the film failed to deliver on the suspense; he also felt that you could not tell one teenage character from the next, whereas in Carpenter's original each teenager had real personalities. In contrast, Rossiter Drake of The Examiner applauded Michael's backstory, feeling that it was a "compelling take on the mythology" that managed to be "unique" and "shocking" at the same time. In agreement with other critics, Empire magazine's Kim Newman felt that, because Zombie seemed less focused on the teenagers being stalked and killed by Michael, the film "fell flat" when it came to delivering suspense or anything "remotely scary"; Newman did praise McDowell for his portrayal of the "dogged psychiatrist". Ben Walter, of Time Out '', felt Zombie added "surprising realism" to the development of Michael Myers’ psychopathic actions, but agreed with Newman that the director replaced the original film’s "suspense and playfulness" with a convincing display of "black-blooded brutality". Frank Scheck, of the ''Hollywood Reporter, believed that even though Zombie's remake of Carpenter's Halloween was better than getting another sequel in the long running franchise it still was not comparable to the 1978 original. For Scheck, Zombie replaced Carpenter's building suspense, which made it so "brilliant", with graphic violence and extended scenes of nudity; he also criticized McDowell for lacking the intensity that Donald Pleasence brought to the Loomis character. By contrast, TV Guide's Ken Fox felt that Zombie did deliver a "scary horror movie", not by copying Carpenter, but by making the film his own. Fox noted that Zombie seemed to follow more in the footsteps of Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper's "savage, greasy-haired '70s" films, which allowed him to bring Michael back to his roots and successfully terrify an audience has grown accustomed to the recent "torture porn" horror films. Bill Gibron, of PopMatters, believes that audiences and critics cannot compare Carpenter's film to Zombie's remake; where Carpenter focused more on the citizens of Haddonfield—with Michael acting as a true "boogeyman"—Zombie focuses more on Michael himself, successfully forcing the audience to experience all of the elements that Michael went through that would result in his "desire for death". Halloween won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Film of 2007, drawing in 550 votes, the most ever in the history of the award. Halloween recently won the 'Best Remake Award' at the 2008 Spike TV Scream Awards. Dan Mathews, vice president of PETA, sent Rob Zombie a thank-you letter for what he perceived as Zombie sending a message to audiences when he depicted the young Michael Myers torturing animals, something he felt demonstrated that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals are likely to move on to humans. Mathews went on to say, "Hopefully, with the attention focused by your movie on the link between cruelty to animals and human violence, more people will recognize the warning signs among people they know and deal with them more forcefully. We wish you continued success!" Home media The film's soundtrack was released on August 21, 2007; it includes 24 tracks, consisting of 12 dialogue tracks and 12 instrumentals. The album contained both new tracks, as well as ones recycled from the original Halloween and its sequel. Tyler Bates' interpretation of John Carpenter's original Halloween theme is the first musical track, with "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," which appeared in Halloween, and "Mr. Sandman", which appeared in Halloween II and Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later, performed by Nan Vernon. Writing about its selection from the 1981 film, one reviewer for theBBC commented that it worked well to "mimic Laurie’s situation (sleeping a lot)", making "the once innocent sounding lyrics seem threatening in a horror film". The album also includes Kiss's "God of Thunder", Rush's "Tom Sawyer", Alice Cooper's "Only Women Bleed", Peter Frampton's "Baby, I Love Your Way", Nazareth's "Love Hurts", Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Let It Ride", Misfits' "Halloween II", and a Iggy Pop live version of the The Stooges' "1969" among others. On December 18, 2007, the film was released on DVD in the United States; both the theatrical and an unrated director's cut were released as two-disc special editions containing identical bonus features. The film was released on DVD in the UK on April 28, 2008, known as the "Uncut" edition. On October 7, 2008, a 3-disc set was released. This Collector's Edition of Halloween features the same bonus features as the previous unrated edition, but includes Rob Zombie's four-and-a-half hour "making-of" documentary similar to the "30 Days in Hell" documentary for Zombie's The Devil's Rejects. Category:Films